Five Psychological Reasons You Can't Stop Spending During a Target Run

Mar 12, 2019

There are all kinds of memes floating around right now talking about just how enticing a Target run can be. You go in expecting to by one bottle of shampoo, and you end up leaving with a bookcase, a handful of sweaters, and a bunch of shelf decorations that you don’t have room for. Why do we do this to ourselves when we don’t even have the funds?? There’s some brain science behind it:

Delayed reward discounting– It’s the technical term for impulse buying a Happy Meal when you could have had a much better meal at home if you had just taken the time to do it. Instant gratification. It’ll get ya!

The scarcity principle– The less likely it is that you can actually get something, the more you want it. Sold outJames CharlesMorphe palettes? Time to spend the big bucks.

Sunk cost fallacy– You’ve already made one initial investment that you can’t get back. Why waste it by stopping your gym membership now?

Anchoring– If something you want has a high initial price (an anchor), and it’s marked down, you’ll recognize the deal and spend.

Social facilitation– Other people buying things will convince you to buy things. Don’t shop with spend-happy friends, and don’t go near any auctions!